Image & Multimedia Search Complaints

When AltaVista launched its Photo Finder service in late 1998, it upset a number of artists. Since then, there have been complaints against AltaVista's service and similar multimedia and image search engines. Below are some resources related to this issue.

It's OK for search engines to show thumbnail images in search results but the legality of displaying full-sized images remains to be determined, a US appeals court has ruled. The decision comes in the case of Kelly versus Arriba Soft (Ditto). Previously, Kelly had won a ruling by a lower court that showing full-sized images violated copyright.

In the right circumstances, image search engines don't violate copyright and using another company's trademarks in meta tags isn't infringement, two separate court cases have found. A rundown on the new rulings can be found in the story below.

As Napster struggles in the face of a court-order restricting what files it can offer, free MP3 fans are flocking to MusicCity. The question is, how long until the music companies turn their attention MusicCity's way?

Not everyone is happy with AltaVista's Photo Finder service. Some photographers and artists are concerned that AltaVista is violating their copyright by making copies of their pictures without explicit permission, in order to present thumbnail images in search results. The article above provides more details on this issue.